A number of years ago, my favorite football team, the Chicago Bears, traded for an All-Pro quarterback by the name of Jay Cutler. Before this trade, the Bears had never really had a good quarterback. I was living in Chicago at the time. The city was ecstatic. A friend called me to tell me the news and I ran into my apartment with another friend of mine to watch sports news for the next several hours and we were smiling the whole time. It was as if the Messiah was coming. The energy around the city was at an all time high! And then, as the years went on, Cutler turned out to be a human being and not the Messiah. Partially because of his errors in play, his erratic playing style, the team’s lack of winning, his attitude and some other intangibles, the city fell out of love with him. The city would not offer unconditional love. Love would come only as long as winning did.

In this week’s Parsha, Parshat Toldot, Isaac and Rebekah’s prayers are answered and God gives them two children, Jacob and Esav. We are told that “Isaac loved Esav because he was fond of game; and Rebekah loved Jacob/יֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת-עֵשָׂו, כִּי-צַיִד בְּפִיו; וְרִבְקָה, אֹהֶבֶת אֶת-יַעֲקֹב.” The Sfas Emes point out what may already be clear to the careful reader. Isaac’s love of Esav is conditional. It depends on tangible skills and results. And when those are no longer present, the love goes away with it. But, Rebekah loves Jacob for no reason and her love lasts forever. And that is what the Midrash means when it teaches that every time she heard his voice she added love. Rebekah’s love of Jacob had no strings attached. And that is like the love that the Holy Blessed One has for us, Israel (which later becomes Jacob’s name).​ Rebekah our Mother, peace be upon her/רבקה אמינו עליה השלום, becomes our image for what divine love looks like. It is a parent that loves “just because.” Parents know this love well. They love their children and it is inexplicable. And it will never go away. That is the easy part. Our challenge is to try and love our fellow human beings the way a parent loves a child. This may not be natural, and may never be totally possible, yet it is our task. We are all the children of God. And God loves us no matter what. We owe it to our brothers and sisters to try and show them love, even when we feel they do not deserve it. Because that is not true. Everyone deserves love. And we need to try to be the ones to offer it. That is our obligation as Israel, the people that have benefited from this divine love. May your Shabbat be filled with abundant love. Shabbat Shalom,Rabbi Ezra

Author

Rabbi Ezra Balser has been the rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom since July 1, 2016. He received his “smicha” (ordination) in June 2017 from Hebrew College while also earning a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies. He has also received the iCenter's Certification in Israel Education.